Hello Friend!

Hi friend! I wish I could jump off the screen and be with you in person. I’d learn your name and your passions and we’d spend our time as strangers talking like old friends. You would open your heart and I’d open mine. We’d share our perfectly imperfect lives together and relish in our biologically-rooted needs for connectivity. Because that’s what Connection over Perfection is all about. My name is Mackenzie and I am a professional sorority woman and event planner. I created Connection over Perfection with hopes to provide you all the tools and tips you need to connect with others through hospitality and social graces.

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Hi friend! I wish I could jump off the pages and be with you in person. I’d learn your name and your passions and we’d spend our time as strangers talking like old friends. You would open your heart and I’d open mine. We’d share our perfectly imperfect lives together and relish in our biologically-rooted needs for connectivity. Because that’s what Connection over Perfection is all about.

My degree is in hospitality, but the ‘southern’ part is just as credible.

How I ended up here:

I graduated from college in 2015 with a degree in Hospitality Management concentrating on Special Events and Conventions. Second semester of my junior year, I was required to participate in an internship of my choosing within the hospitality field. Many of my peers chose to work the front-desk at local hotels or landed jobs as cater-waiters for local companies. I recognized that neither of these opportunities would give me the chance to plan events – which is what I was truly passionate about. I figured that if I reached out to one of the dozens of community non-profit organizations, that I could gain some exposure to planning fundraisers. I began working for Boys & Girls Clubs and before the semester was over, they had offered me a full-time position as their Special Events Coordinator.

Around the same time I was offered this position, it was also time to select my placement for my second required internship. While the opportunity at Boys & Girls Clubs could have served as the hours I needed for my internship, I was apprehensive. I absolutely loved the idea of wedding planning but had absolutely zero experience with it. I also knew from growing up in my small college town of Greenville, NC that if I didn’t leave now, I might not ever. When one of North Carolina’s top wedding planning firms came to speak to my class that spring semester, I took a chance and got an interview for one of the most competitive internship opportunities within our program. I felt like I got my “big break” when I got the email saying I landed the internship – my position with Boys & Girls Clubs was officially on hold for the summer and they were excited for me to pursue my dreams. After one summer of working every event every single weekend, I learned more than I could imagine and the company hired me as an Associate Consultant and Social Media / Vendor Relations Coordinator before I returned for my senior year of college.

I was on cloud nine – riding such a high that the crash was inevitable. On the wedding front, I was handling nearly a dozen weddings for day-of coordination, writing at least one blog post per week, and managing all social media. On the Boys & Girls Clubs front, I was coordinating fundraisers for nine different clubs in four different counties. At this time, I was also Vice President for my sorority and responsible for our membership recruitment activities. Did I mention I was a full-time student? Something had to give… and I chose that something to be Boys & Girls Clubs. Looking back, this choice was INSANE. I had a salary, benefits, stability, a job in my field of study, a job with a higher purpose, mentors, potential to grow… But I left it all. Though it was a tough decision, I was excited to whole-heartedly pursue wedding planning.